


Witchy Business

by Onus_Probandi



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Friends With Benefits To Lovers, I am attempting and sometimes it doesn’t work, I cried too much writing the third chapter weh, It’s an ensemble cast, M/M, The coven converges, Trans Lio Fotia, a lot of mentions of sex and sexual acts, afab language, blep, college/witch au???, galo finger blasts a witch and nearly gets to kiss HIM DRAMA, general witchy shenanigans, handjobs, humping, its dumb I’m sorry, lio is a witch and an incubus? Check, maybe some spoilers but not too heavy, mentions of Talulah, no eye contact this isn’t romantic yet, that’s the point Galo fucks a witch, thyma is alive and a general? Check
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-26
Updated: 2020-07-09
Packaged: 2021-02-26 11:20:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21968467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Onus_Probandi/pseuds/Onus_Probandi
Summary: When golden boy Galo Thymos turns to less than legal means of acquiring legal, but expensive medication, he accidentally becomes witch Lio Fotia’s source of magic to prevent disaster on both their ends.(Or, Galo has sex a witch on many occasions.)
Relationships: Lio Fotia/Galo Thymos
Comments: 23
Kudos: 115





	1. Chapter 1

He’s a good person, he follows the law, volunteers at the local Burning Rescue and he’s stayed away from drugs despite being two years into a robotics major with a Japanese language minor. He’s had more of his fair chances to do so and who would blame him? Hockey practice from early in the morning, classes all day, homework and practice at night, people are surprised when he proudly declares he’s never used drugs before. His talent is all determination, despite not being the best at the whole homework aspect.

Besides, drugs are bad, and he would never do anything to jeopardize the scholarships Kray worked so hard to get him... 

Is this a bad thing if he’s doing it to be a better person for the people he loves and respects, or does the bad aspect outweigh any of the good? Technically, going to your friend’s roommate and buying illegal medication from them is bad, but he needs it to function because he’s almost out of medication and it’s expensive and he’s desperate. So he fiddles with his fingers in the hallway of Alabaster hall, as if waiting for divine intervention while also looking extremely suspicious. His bad habit of ruffling his hair when he’s nervous comes out in full force and the far less rational side decides to just go for it, swing open the (surprisingly) unlocked door with far more force than needed. 

For that, he definitely deserves chewing out, maybe something mechanical thrown at his head, knowing Lucia, but he doesn’t expect a beautiful boy levitating in the middle of the 9x9 room, eldritch runes and candles (the RA is gonna lose his shit it if he sees those) on Lucia’s fuzzy rug. Oh, the gay is hitting Galo hard, the floating man has fluffy mint hair, the figure of an Olympic skater and is utterly terrifying with his head thrown back, magic swirling around him as his eyes make contact with Galo’s soul. 

Oh, right. The magic dies down and the small man stares wide-eyed at him as his sclera return to white and-oh his eyes are pretty, really pretty. His irises are the color of twilight, brilliant with rage as he locks on Galo’s dumbstruck face and the larger man feels as if he’ll be sucked into those furious skies. He seems...surprised, eyebrows shooting up.

The smaller man raises his hand with a twist, ropes of neon magenta and green baubles setting his arm alight before Galo’s means of escape slams shut and he’s trapped in this room with this stunner of a twink. Oh, god, he’s going to die with a bit of an erection.

“Are you actually stupid? What the hell are you barging into someone’s room for?” The twink is furious and Galo can almost see sparks tracing along his poofy hair. 

“I-I-I-uh...I don’t...uh...sorry? Were you floating? Was that magic?” 

The boy scoffs, rubbing his temples with his gloved hands as if this was a minor work inconvenience, though Galo supposed he would be annoyed if someone kicked in his door while working. “You’re dense aren’t you.” A statement, not even leaving room for questioning.

“Sorry.”

“Don’t keep apologizing,” the boy mutters over his shoulder as he kicks over the candles and they extinguish as if they were never lit as he moves to turn the light back on. The fluorescents above flicker to life and he climbs into his chair, legs spread and chin in his palm. He looks bored with the mere idea of Galo existing but he’s paying rapt attention to a potential customer.

That’s also when Galo realizes he’s been on the floor the whole time and scrambles to his feet. “Um, I heard from Lucia that you can make medicine?”

“One of my many specialties. What do you need?”

He fishes in his pockets for the crumpled slip of gibberish that was his prescription, handing it over into the boy’s outstretched palm. He unfurls the paper, scanning the illegible nonsense before raising an eyebrow, scanning Galo and placing the slip on his desk. “You’re asking for a lot. What are you willing to give?”

“G-Give?”

“Money is generally exchanged for goods and services. But if you’re coming to me, you don’t have any.” 

These are all true things but hearing them come from this pretty dude with fluffy hair and sunset eyes whose legging clad legs look like they could crush his windpipe with a single twist, it sounds all the more pathetic. 

“I don’t. Sorry. But- _ but _ ,” he’s practically begging when the boy’s entire demeanor changes. “I can do anything else! Anything!”

The boy shakes his head and sighs, rubbing at the corner of his eyes, clearly either annoyed or exhausted, dark circles more apparent under the fluorescent light. He looks like he needs a cup of tea and a nap, and maybe some time in the sun. He’s about as pale as the carpet on his roommate’s side of the dorm. “I take trades, but it has to be something worth my while. And as you’ve probably guessed, I’m not in the mood to haggle. You made me waste my mana reserves and now I’m fucking tired. It’s not that easy for me to get it and unless you’ve got a potion up your ass, you’re _ wasting my time _ .” He emphasizes each word with the slight edge of an accent that Galo can’t quite pinpoint.

“So, you really are…”

“A witch, yes,” his eyes flare and Galo swears they’re darker than before. “You just now figured that out?”

“I mean, I guessed, but I thought witches made the magic,”

“ _ Made the magic _ ,” The boy puts on a dumb voice and mocks Galo’s words. “Yeah, well I’m not your run of the mill witch, sorry.”

Galo frowns a bit, “ok, if I get what you need, can you do it for me then?” 

The boy looks Galo up and down, eyes fixating on Galo’s crotch. Suddenly, he feels both naked and ablaze, crossing his legs and coughing awkwardly. The boy sighs. What did he do now? “You’re enough, but I doubt you would want to be mana fodder.”

“Huh?”

“Like I said, I’m not a run of the mill witch,” he stands, glorious despite his exhaustion. “I derive my power from human contact.” When Galo blinks blankly and holds out his hand, the boy sighs loudly, swatting it away. “Dense as fuck,” he mutters. His next words are louder, “sex. I get mana from sex.”

Oh.

Is it bad that he doesn’t instantly think it’s a bad trade?

He bites the flesh of his thumb, rolling it between his teeth as he weighs his options. It’s not illegal, but the drug peddling and frolicking with a witch definitely are. Technically, he should report this guy because of the black magic and drug dealing thing, but according to Lucia, he does a lot of good for a lot of people, himself included. 

He’s still watching, waiting for a reply, consent.

Galo doesn’t even, “...What’s your name?”

“Lio. Lio Fotia.” He’s short, pretty and foreign. “The Witch of Alabaster.” Lio throws his hands in a jazzy gesture, sarcasm heavy from the words. He’s also extremely perceptive, “look, you’re obviously nervous, you don’t need to do anything. I can take a different trade, but I don’t need you to do anything physical--”

“I-uh…I don’t know what you…” he takes a breath, fidgets with his fingers and resists the urge to scratch at his shaved sides. “What do you want me to do?”

“Wait, what? Not even gonna fact check that? Ask me if I have any diseases? Just, ‘how do you want me to get you off?’ You really live life on the edge, huh?” Lio laughs and oh god it’s beautiful, he’s beautiful and there are worse people to trade sex for drugs with.

Wow, that sounds worse than it is.

Galo doesn’t reply, swallowing thickly, Lio making confident strides until he’s in the taller man’s personal space.

His eyes are definitely inhuman when he whispers, “don’t worry, I’ll be gentle.”

Oh, fuck, it’s intimidating but also arousing. 

He’s got Galo up against the wall, face buried against his throat, slim form pressed firmly against his. The more skin contact the better, Lio says before removing his gloves and ghosting his fingers underneath Galo’s shirt, and eventually…

His fingers are so  _ soft _ . They tease the head of Galo’s cock, give a firm tug that makes him suck in his breath. His fingers are gone as soon as they came, and Galo opens his eyes to watch as Lio pumps lotion into his palm. His free hand pulls teasingly at Galo’s waistband before pulling the zipper down in one smooth motion. It’s cold when the lotion smears onto his cock but flares hot when Lio’s fingers get to work. Galo groans softly as Lio shifts back into his starting position, his fingers curling around the larger man’s dick, pumping shallowly to spread the lotion as he goes to work flawlessly, effortlessly bringing Galo’s half hardness to full erection. It doesn’t hurt that he’s grinding against his knee while he pants softly, which Galo isn’t sure where to put his body or what to touch or what to do so he just melts into it.

Lio wasn’t lying; he is gentle, delicate body burning intensely against his own. That’s not a metaphor. Lio genuinely feels like he’s on fire. And it’s good, his room is cold and Galo finds himself thrusting his hips to spread that warmth from tip to base. Lio pushes a hand against Galo’s pelvis before he squeezes down with his otherwise occupied hand, drawing a gasp from the larger man. 

Everything fades to white noise, the hum of the A/C kicking to life, Lio’s soft breaths panting to a matching rhythm.

He’s closer than he realizes, and he cums all over Lio’s pretty hands.

Immediately, he’s all business again, taking a wet wipe to clean his fingers before tossing Galo a tissue. There’s a damp spot on his knee where Lio was pressed against but Lio doesn’t speak of it and Galo figures it’s better not to press the issue. He can change his pants before class.

“I’ll get to work on what you need. It’ll be a few days at most,” Lio looks ready to say something else, eyes most definitely human and skin flushed. He looks better from a few minutes (hours?) ago. “...thank you.”

What should he say, ”thank you” back? Is it weird to get a handjob from a witch (yes, beyond the point) and then just pretend it didn’t happen? He’s more stunned than anything, living in his own reality as the day crawls into the night and the smell of Lio Fotia, witch of Alabaster and his pinkish lotion.

He realizes he never told Lio his name.

  
  
  



	2. Eating out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Galo and Lio eat out at the local dining hall in more ways than one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi im sorry, ive been so busy and sitting on this chapter and its fucking huge and prob makes no sense but pls dont bulli because my writing is trash and i deserve to die for it
> 
> (afab language used to describe Lio's parts)

He leaves Galo’s concoction with Lucia and disappears before the Himbo, as Lio has daringly nicknamed him, returns to the place of the crime. Of all people, it had to be the one crush Lio had nursed through freshman year, going willingly to sporting events just to watch the bulkier man dart about the rink in an almost graceful way, dreaming about teasing those helmet pressed spikes back to their full mast glory and dealing with more than a few unwanted wet dreams later during winter break, he got over it. He got over Galo and his cheerful beauty, and as their majors bore down, the gen ed requirements and possible shared classes faded away until they were nothing but a bad dream.

He buried himself in his major, but more in his magic, desperate and itching for the chance to show his family their errors. He toppled the power structure of a decrepit coven and made it his own, revitalizing it with new blood, rather than depending on the Pure Coven bloodlines. But something was always missing, a low ache that began in his belly and slowly,  _ slowly _ , ate him up from the inside. A pure and raw hunger from the depths of starvation consumed him day by day despite gorging himself on-campus fast food. Gradually, his true form came into focus, scorched skin, ashen hair, feline eyes, and it was then he learned his true heritage.

Lio’s mother, a kind, gentle woman, was born a succubus and it had manifested earlier than Lio’s own curse, perhaps because she was full-fledged and he was only a half breed. She needed human contact to survive. She did what she needed too, and Lio would never shame or blame her, but when he gazes at his true form he can only resent being born in such a manner. Sickly his entire childhood, and then maturity only brings more uncertainty rather than concise answers to easy questions. It’s always there, right underneath Lio’s skin, the true form of a Cambion is more demonic than human, but he’s only glimpsed it once before his mother snatched him away from the mirror and fed her own magic into him.

She loves him, despite everything he’s put her through. When he said he would be going against the family that abandoned them, she had protested that a better life was easily in his grasp. To sacrifice her dignity in such a manner just for him. It makes him sick to think of what she had to endure. She would be heartbroken to hear that he’s gone down this path in his rebellion, but the less she knows about his business activities the better.

Lio has heard his father loved him.

He waits in line for his rice bowl, before he nearly topples over when his second-youngest general damn near tackles him. 

Gueira is bulkier than Lio but to be fair everyone is bulkier than Lio. The volcanic headed man is scrawny as all hell but with a touch of genuine insecurity so they avoid ribbing at his stature. A witch from a low ranking guard family, Gueira has more than proven his willingness to learn how to control his explosive tendencies with fire but Lio isn’t here to make him change his way of life or who he is. He’s powerful and just needs a dash of finesse to not melt everything in a ten-mile radius.

But then again, he  _ is _ from Florida.

“Boss! There you are, haven’t heard anything from you since yesterday, what happened to working on the project?”

Oh, shit he totally forgot about their group project, but that’s what happens when your crush appears at your front door and you give him a very close handy. “I’m sorry, I had uh...a situation.”

“Are you alright, boss?” The yin to Gueira’s explosive yang appears as he always does, right when the first scent of trouble or blood hits the water. Meis’ cool exterior belies someone matching Guiera in overprotectiveness to his boss, but he generally is more levelheaded than his partner. 

He really doesn’t feel like explaining it, but they’ll pull it out of him like ripping a tooth in a backstreet root canal because of course, right behind them comes Thyma and the inner circle of Lio’s closest acquaintances is complete. Lio slips from out of Gueira’s loose headlock to retrieve his lunch while the three follow him in anticipation to explain. He can spot Gueira’s bag from a mile away, inundated with charms and pins he got on a scholarship trip to Japan, after spending his paltry savings on gacha machines and the hell pit that was FGO. They encircle each other, anticipating their Boss’s answer. Lio sighs shakes his bowl before admitting, “I saw Galo again. I gave him a handjob.”

Thyma inhales her smoothie down the wrong pipe, coughs, and chokes while Guiera makes sounds akin to satan bringing pestilence to the lands of fucking uni, Meis gives Lio a concerned look.

Huh, underreactions. He presses on before they can regain composure, “look, you all know how desperate I can get. I had no other choice. It was all clean and consensual, he got a potion and I got a top off, win-win.”

Thyma is first to respond with a breathy, “what the fuck,” ruffling her perfectly teased curls and Lio feels bad since she still has class later. “Lio, we left you alone for an hour and you,” she leans into their circle like a sputtering hen, whispering, “gave one of the hockey players a handjob?”

Lio takes a spoonful of rice and vegetables, crunching slowly to avoid responding. Eventually they just let loose, barreling questions ranging from, “did he force you.” No. “Did you do anything else?” No. “Do you still have feelings for him?” Wow, Meis really getting into it. He didn’t want to get into how much it got him off, and how Galo smelled even better than Lio’s paltry imagination could conjure.

“He didn’t force me, it was a mutual trade. We didn’t do anything else, I had class after.” He ignores Meis’ loaded question, flicking a rogue bang out of his face, his appetite lost. “Why are you all in my ass about this? He’s just another fling. It’s a dumb coincidence, but it meant nothing to me. Can we please just focus on the project?”

“That wasn’t your mood yesterday,” Thyma mutters, but reaches for her laptop to aggressively type  _ at _ Lio. Don’t ask him, he doesn’t know about her processes. “You could have at least told us what you were up to, we were worried.”

Her voice fades into nothingness as Lio spots a familiar shock of blue hair bounding through the dining hall. He’s sipping something oddly colored like Lio’s potion and he’s glad the Himbo is smart enough to drink it in slow sips, but not smart enough to not pick a fucking clear cup.

His body reacts positively, hidden tail curling around his right leg. Galo’s potential magic energy is exceptionally high and the amount Lio’s syphoned from just a handjob has filled out the hollow areas in his cheeks well. He only needs a little more to fully restore his appearance, so a quick rendezvous. He leans forward slightly, hunter instinct activated, and, oh shit, their eyes follow.

“Oh...No wonder you looked like shit, Boss.” Right through the soul, Guiera. “You look better but, jeez, I can’t believe that you didn’t actually do the deed.”

Lio rolls a finger through his hair, humming casually, “not your business, but no,” that gets their attention. They’re all horny dumbasses at some point, it just happens that they’re syncing up on their one mutual braincell. He stands unceremoniously, chirps, “watch my stuff please,” before swaggering up to Galo and his cup.

* * *

Lio practically slams the door shut, locking it behind him before he saunters over to the counter, smoothly gliding over the surface as he slides across flawlessly, ending up in between Galo’s knees. His fingers reach up and out reluctantly grasp the delicate chin of his...partner? His friend with benefits? He doesn’t know and doesn’t want to think about it, he thinks, pulling his pants down past his hips, his deep black underwear consistent with his style choices.

Lio stokes Galo’s chin and grasps one of his hands, placing it on the area where his pants and skin meet. Galo’s eyes are blown wide as he realizes what Lio is asking, swallows thickly and nods, stroking the soft skin gently before pulling his (leather?) pants entirely off his spindly legs, leaving him in underwear and his shirt. Lio’s fingers have found a grip in Galo’s hoodie, pulling him in an awkward half-hug. He mutters in Galo’s ear exactly what he wants, and red blooms across his cheeks, but he nods, reaching out to cup Lio’s-

_ Oh _ . 

_ Oh! _

That makes a lot more sense and he’s surprised he didn’t realize it sooner. He’s pretty sure he’s heard it from Lucia, and is definitely sure he felt it during the handjob, but whoever signed him up for housing used the wrong identity and that’s how they got roomed together, which is actually super shitty the more Galo thinks about it. 

He opens his mouth but to say what? He doesn’t understand Lio and how he feels. His struggles are unique only to him and to feel so uncomfortable in ones body is unknown to Galo. He shouldn’t say anything, and all that slips out is, “can I touch you?”

Lio smirks, pats Galo’s cheek in a slightly patronizing way, muttering “okay” under his breath. His legs part wider, welcoming him in.

Should they kiss? That feels weird. He’s not dating Lio. 

Though...dating Lio doesn’t sound all that bad. He’s kinda eccentric, but nothing he hasn’t seen before.

The  _ witch _ part is...something else entirely. But Galo doesn’t understand why having magic makes Lio less desirable. He’s heard Lio’s had everyone lining up around the block to get a chance at him, more than a few boyfriends and countless lovers. Maybe the magic part makes him infinitely more attractive.

Lio answers for him, pulling his underwear down and off, exposing himself to Galo. He’s already wet. 

Checking his surroundings for any unfortunate puddles, Galo kneels, pushing Lio closer to the edge before his ass is practically hanging off the counter and his mound is right in Galo’s face. It’s...proportional? It’s a touch smaller than Galo’s mouth but he licks his lips anyways and dives in with full enthusiasm. Lio sighs gently as Galo licks at his clit hesitantly, giving him the positive feedback he desired. He has to hold back a snicker when Galo follows it up with a blown kiss to his folds, and realizes that this is going to be a learning curve and not nearly as easy as he had initially believed. He reaches for his bag on the bench, pulls out his phone and scrolls absently through his tabs to give himself  _ something _ to do.

It’s...a strange flavor, but he doesn’t mind it too much. The slick mouthfeel of Lio’s folds is oddly enticing, as is the rush of pheromones that goes right to his dick, erection tenting steadily in his pants. He doesn’t mind that Lio is scrolling through Instagram, though he’s a tiny bit put off by how casually Lio takes this. 

He lets saliva pool a bit on his tongue, he at least knows that being wet = good, licking a thick stripe up Lio’s flesh. Lio shivers, his grip on the phone jostling, groaning when Galo repeats the action, but this time, focusing on Lio’s clit. 

“Mnhh…” His vision crosses and his legs tremble. The phone nearly slips out of his hands and into the sink, but he grasps it just in time. Pleased with the reaction, Galo continues in making his partner feel at least half as good as Lio had done before. He presses his hands against the counter, pushes his face closer to Lio’s warmth, focusing on that one spot that caused Lio to lean against the mirror and mewl in pleasure. Galo sucks, hard, on that stiff bundle of nerves and Lio practically screams. With how loud they’re being, Galo’s surprised no one has knocked on the door yet, but this dining hall is always crowded and the building doesn’t lack for bathrooms.

Lio’s wetness spreads, trickling down his bare legs and an alluring sight to behold when Galo comes up for breath. The younger man is practically wheezing through his hands which attempt to cover his mouth, blush coloring his cheeks and thin tears shimmering at the corner of his eyes. When Galo locks gazes with him, Lio lowers his hands and mutters softly in this shockingly shaky and delicate voice, “you can…” he swallows thickly, “Can you finger me?” 

Galo looks surprised but moves to lick his fingers before Lio grasps his hand. He’s even more embarrassed about this than his request but shyly utters, “in my mouth,” Lio opens his mouth, pink and wet with a tongue pressed flat to the floor of his jaw.

Galo’s cock twitched violently at the sight, letting Lio guide his fingers into the warm cave. Oh, fuck, it feels even better than he imagined. Lio’s tongue is skilled, twisting around Galo’s thick digits while he sucks on the fingers in pure ecstasy. 

Oh, he’s getting off on this and Galo can’t help but watch. Lio’s hips roll and tremble under Galo’s free hand a slow, thick drip trickling off his thighs onto the counter and to the floor. Holy shit, he’s moaning a little bit. He’s got an oral fetish and practically screams when Galo pushes his fingers in deeper experimentally, flesh scraping teeth. 

This better not awaken anything in him.

Lio reluctantly lets Galo’s fingers free, slick and moist. His thin lips have plumped up considerably from arousal and he licks the saliva from his lips, though some drips free and disappears into his shirt. 

The magic isn’t what makes him alluring, it’s the delicate ferality he possesses. He watched Lio destroy a plate of chicken nachos from across Alabaster dining one time and it awakened something akin to primal sexuality in him. Lio comes off as frail and soft but Galo remembers this time he witnessed the smaller man disappearing into Castor hall flanked by a lanky redhead, this short girl Galo has seen around and a midnight haired guy Galo is sure he’s seen playing in one of the skeevy bars in the city

The next thing he heard, someone from Castor ended up in the hospital and allegations flew about. Never could catch the culprit and automatically assuming that Lio is the culprit is wrong, but the idea of Lio crushing a grown man’s wrist between his fingers is extremely sexy.

He desperately wants to kiss Lio for some reason, panting hotly against Lio’s face. And oh, the smaller man wants it too, eyes lidded and mouth parted, lips shiny with saliva. They move closer together, oh so close...

Someone pounds on the door, and they startle away from each other. 

That was too fucking close, Lio thinks as he wipes his mouth with the back of his hand, coughing out an, “someone’s in here!”

“I know, Boss.” Ah, shit fuck, it’s Meis. Why are they suddenly so interested in his sex life now? The others are more than likely right behind him, ready to chew him a fresh new hole. After a pause, Meis mutters, “it’s her. She wants to see you.”

Of course. It’s always her.

Lio slips off the counter, his own slick cooling on his legs as does his arousal. Galo is having a harder time, literally, his erection tenting his pants, rinsing his face with cold water in the sink while Lio wipes his inner thighs with a napkin, hurriedly slipping into his clothes before looking at Galo with something akin to pity in his eyes. He always looks like that though, as if he’s sad, forlorn.

“Wait like five minutes and then come out, okay?” He doesn’t have a chance to respond before Lio unlocks the door and disappears out of the bathroom.

Ok, so did he try to kiss a Witch or what? Was it some heat of the moment type shit? He’s seen Lio around campus before and in his College Algebra, Sociology and Honors History courses. Galo’s always been enamored with him, going through hairstyle changes faster than Galo blows through Dining Dollars and oh, so confident in who he is.

Galo’s never felt that kind of confidence in his life, it’s only been a few months since he came to the realization that he liked boys, which he wished he knew before many, many awkward heterosexual dates and sexual experiences. But isn’t he supposed to be the perfect good boy for the Governor? 

All this thinking hurts his brain, he just gave a man head in a bathroom, a man he doesn’t know well outside of really painful pining and an awkwardly intimate handjob in a dorm room. 

Luckily, all the brain nonsense has helped his erection go down and it’s probably been more than five minutes, so he attempts to slip out as if he totally wasn’t about to fuck a man in there and--

Oh.

Lio hasn’t left the dining hall and is instead sitting cross-legged at a table with a grey-haired girl. She’s speaking calmly to him, but her hands ball when she catches sight of something in Galo’s direction.

Wait.

She’s pointing at him and halfway to shouting. Lio sighs, cleans his nails and chatters something back at her, probably, “calm down” but she escalates, gesturing at him before a hulking man and this Goth girl in Galo’s robotics class who likes explosives too much approaches him, their presence intimidating as fuck when they crowd beside him.

He sits next to Lio, feeling awfully tiny.


	3. Chapter 3

At the end of the Kamikerz and Babel rebellion, the Atlas family came out on top, seizing territory and power with virtually no opposition until they became the coven others aspired, bled, and cried to become part of. Heads of the post-war magic world, they shouldered the burdens and blessings of complete coven supremacy. 

And then there was Talulah. The black sheep of her own family the second she was born half Lungmani and then again by refusing every suitor who dared look her way. Determined to take the throne for herself, but watching her father’s advisor take it instead filled her with such incurable rage. Still, what can she do but bide her time and plot her detailed revenge? She smiles, sips her coffee, and dreams about pouring bleach down the snake’s beak.

She smiles wider.

Her only anchor to the world of reality and not first degree murdering a man is her future husband (ugh) and only friend, Lio.

Poor boy’s been cursed from the start, being born an incubus and into the Fotia family, a handful of bickering Dragonborne bitches who suck the most superiority complex dick. Neatly snuggled on a massive chunk of power, they rarely did anything but produce extremely powerful witches and throw parties. Gender and sexuality crisis tend to ensue when you never know who you are, using magic to sneak into clubs when they were younger and stupider. 

Talulah can never understand him, watching from the sidelines since they were 10 as Lio cries and screams that this body is so fundamentally broken. He has the ability to make an idealized self but instead lives with what he calls a pain in the ass. When she asks why he responds with only, “I donno, I love the emotional crisis.” Or not at all.

Perhaps the flames of magic in him craved chaos, maybe he couldn’t let this body go. Maybe he didn’t want to acknowledge the unsavory rumors that would spread about him. 

She’s learned not to question it. He has more important things to worry about. He’s watching his mother die and has all the power in the world, but can’t do anything for her but silly little tricks that make her pain manageable. 

Magic is only so powerful. Ethics are only so strong.

Powerful enough to skyrocket his hobby in alchemy, dawdling around in mortal drugs. While she finds it below him, he refuses to be dependent on his family anymore. The risks are there but his roommate doesn’t care because she gets kickbacks for him using the room as a sex and drug den and the RA’s turned her eyes away because insulin is a hell of an expense. Perhaps he hopes a human cure can save his mother.

Still, despite how pathetic he is, they’ve been friends since the beginning. And yet he’s never fucking listened to her, so she watches him down a fireball in three gulps, gasps and slurs, “I’m never fucking a frat boy again. If I ever do, punch me in my balls.”

So when she watches him slip into the dining hall bathroom with surprise surprise another fucking athlete frat boy, she can’t take it anymore. She keysmashes in all caps in the group chat her pure fury at him and he ignores it besides sending a thirsty tongue and aubergine emoji as if taunting her.

By the time they’re done doing the do and Lio attempts to straighten himself out as if everyone didn’t notice the bathroom being locked, almost the entirety of the Reunion coven leaders have assembled from across campus. Mephisto looks annoyed that he had to ditch class and Faust doesn’t look like anything, crouched in his chair and picking at fries. He’s been having a hard time lately. W had to stop stealing from her place of work just long enough to take care of this problem while Frostnova and Crownslayer pretended to be good college students. Skullshatterer hasn’t responded in two hours and probably got his phone taken away again, the little shit. 

Patriot responded with a simple thumbs-ups on Talulah’s rant. Truly a man of zero words and boomerisms.

Lio is half tempted to run and see how far he can get off campus before he’s shot down by Faust’s crossbow bolts. She can see him thinking about it on his stupid face. Gripping her cup and raising it slightly, she tells him silently that she’s not in the mood.

Caught, he shoos his dark-haired bodyguard away and sheepishly saunters over. Meis makes his evil eye known as he sits at the table on the opposite end of the hall but she’s seen worse from the man, including a quiet promise of a hex if she made Lio’s life even slightly more difficult. She respects him and his desire to protect his false coven Head.

“Hi, gang. Didn’t realize it was a Head meeting today. Not like I’m ever invited,” Lio drags a chair to the table before plopping down innocently. “But considering how many you have, I’m kinda glad.”

His attempt at levity doesn’t fly, settling awkwardly in the tension.

“Hello, Lio, have you been eating? You look pale.” Frostnova is all over him, ever the doting older sister figure. “Make sure to have vegetables and grains, not just meat.” The double entendre is accidental.

Talulah nearly cracks her own head open. Jesus Christ, say what you want about Lio but it’s undeniable that he has lasting natural charm. “Frostnova, this is an intervention. Stop babying him,” she snaps perhaps a bit too harshly.

She has no shame, really, the big sister of the group and Patriot’s second child, she babies the entire coven regardless of age. Very touchy-feely.

Also, haha, fun fact, Talulah’s ex-girlfriend. 

Lio squirms away from the attention, both good and bad. “I’m eating with my friends, Frostnova, I’m  _ fine _ .” He sounds ever so petulant, allowing his guard to fall a pinch.

Mephisto slams his cup of milk down a little too hard. Fucking baby man. “See? He’s been eating, can we  _ please _ talk about what’s really important?” He rounds on Lio and Lio scoots back a bit from the table. The little maniac always made him feel two steps removed from safe with his invasive magic. He had been on the receiving end once and it put the fear of death into him. “You, what the hell are you doing with yet  _ another _ human? Don’t you learn or do you have  _ actual _ shit for brains?”

Mephistopheles has always had his problems with Lio, and how the older boy hasn’t punted the shit out of him yet is a miracle considering how much crap the boy has put him through. Even if you discount basic human dignity, Lio still is the firstborn of the Fotia family. He could kill Mephisto and no one would hold him accountable other than a brief admonishment that they would have to find a new Head to replace the child.

At Talulah’s dull gaze, Faust pulls Mephisto back by his suspenders. The white-haired boy is still fuming but simmers down enough that Lio no longer fears his for his soul. “He has a point, Lio. You can’t keep doing this. Word spreads fast and I’m pretty sure your aunt has already heard of this. Considering I  _ just _ got her off your ass, I would hope you could show us some restraint from being…” she trails off suddenly, realizing the stung look in his eyes.

“ _ From being _ what, Tal?” He hisses with practiced venom, eyes narrow and ego definitely riled. Her next words need to be cherry picked delicately or this conversation will end with Lio throwing things. Already her bodyguards have leaned forward in anticipation of putting him on his ass should he attack their Lady.

She absentmindedly waves them back. “From being  _ you _ . You’re reckless and you’ll scare the humans. You know how easy they are to spook,” she hopes it’s enough backpedaling to appease him, but while Lio may be free flowing with that threatening drawl, he rarely resorts to actual violence when something as small as his pride is hurt. The subject of being himself however, is something he’d rather not discuss when all he’s had to say about it has been shared ad nauseum by nosy relatives and poorly trusted allies.

Despite Talulah’s attempts to keep him calm, Lio’s still on edge, right arm flexing dangerously. She can feel the pure heat of his pent up magic under her skin. It burns. If she can feel it, everyone else definitely can. That’s good he’s been at least fraternizing with magic sensitives, she was worried for a second. “I can’t even do my goddamn business without one of you in it,” he mutters under his breath before continuing the saying clearly but softly enough so passerby don’t hear his words, “I’ve told you before that I don’t take pleasure in using magic on humans. It’s all consensual and no one has figured out the big W question.”

Talulah swats his unusually foreword aggression out of her face and smirks, “Then why don’t we ask him?” she cocks her head at one of her nameless, faceless guards, and W skips eagerly after him. Lio watches in damn near-abstract horror as Galo is lead to the chair and sits down in a freshly proctored chair next to him.

“Hiii…” Galo tries but the expression Lio provides shuts him up. 

Talulah sits forward, her fingertips touching. “Hello. Nice to meet you. I never knew Lio got another boyfriend.”

Lio groans. “I told you, he’s not my boyfriend, just a client. Transactional.”   
  
“I said, I’ll ask him, Lio. Wait your turn.” Talulah eyes Galo intensely. “So how do you know my fiancé?”

Galo’s face falls quickly, eyes darting to stare directly at Lio in pure shock and horror with his mouth slightly agape. He can barely hold his emotions in on a good day, but the fact that he can still taste an engaged man on his lips really isn’t helping. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I spent too long on this chapter and I hate it yay depression

**Author's Note:**

> Hi I’m sorry you’re subjected to this ajdjshd. I would love to hear feedback from you!


End file.
